This invention relates generally to the field of devices for cardiac surgery, and more specifically to devices for chemical ablation of cardiac tissue.
The present invention is directed toward treatment of tachyarrhythmias, which are heart rhythms in which an chamber or chamber of the heart exhibits an excessively fast rhythm. In particular, the present invention is directed toward treatment of tachycardias, which are due to the presence of ectopic foci within the cardiac tissue or due to the presence of aberrant condition pathways within the cardiac tissue.
Injection of alcohol into heart tissue has been employed to ablate cardiac tissue. Alcohol may be delivered to blood vessels supplying the tissue to be ablated, as described in "Transcoronary Chemical Ablation of Arrhythmias", by Nellens et al, Pace Vol. 15, pages 1368-1373, September 1992. Alternatively, alcohol can be delivered directly to the tissue to be ablated by means of a needle inserted through a catheter, as described in "Chemical Ablation by Subendocardial Injection of Ethanol via Catheter--Preliminary Results in the Pig Heart", by Weismuller et al, European Heart Journal, Volume 12, pages 1234-1239, 1991.